Elizabeth woke slowly, her body waking before her eyes had the strength to open. She felt an arm around her waist, holding her tightly, and a soft breath on her neck. Ardeth.
It was something she had wanted for months, in wait of seeing him again while in England. There was always a part of her that had expected Ardeth to turn her down, citing her presumptuous move to Egypt far too much commitment for him. But here he was, and here she was, and they were together—their bodies softly touching and tangled beneath blankets.
Briefly she wondered if the two of them had crossed a line; sleeping together before marriage in her culture was quite frowned upon, not unheard of but frowned upon. In the war it was hard not to give into simple comforts, especially being one of very few women. She wondered what it was like in Ardeth's culture, the Medjai culture. Ardeth seemed to have no hesitations with the previous night's activities, for which she was thankful. Still she wondered.
Ardeth's arm around her tightened and she felt a soft kiss on her shoulder, a tickle from his beard.
"Why are you awake, habibti?" Ardeth said with a soft rumble from deep within his chest, yet it seemed to bloom like a whisper in her ear. Elizabeth smiled through her sleepiness and snuggled further into his chest.
"I used to dream about you while I was away…nearly every night, and it made me so happy even if I was feeling so terribly alone." She spoke into the pillow they shared. "And now it seems my dreams just aren't good enough because you are here. I may never sleep again."
Ardeth kissed her shoulder again and again, lowering the sheets and kissed further down the middle of her back. Elizabeth smiled and bit back a deep moan. Ardeth's hands traced the faint scars on her back, she could tell because they were more sensitive than the other parts of her skin.
"I'll always have a reminder of the war with me, a forever reminder of the horror of it." She said softly.
"I see it as a reminder of your bravery, your courage." He kissed each small scar caused by bomb shrapnel. Elizabeth's nerve endings were going nearly insane by the intimacy, chills rising through her whole body. Slowly she turned and faced him. He was more beautiful than she could have ever imagined in the morning light like this. Ardeth smiled softly and brushed her hair from her face, his fingers lingering on her cheek.
"This still feels like a dream to me." Elizabeth whispered, positioning herself closer to his body.
"To me as well, Elizabeth." They kissed softly, the swelling sun's rays through the open windows were beginning to fill the room with a heavy heat. Slowly Elizabeth stretched and reached around the side of the bed for a robe. She slipped it on and flipped the oven on, she filled a kettle with water from a large pitcher and grabbed a bowl of grapes and a few other fruits for breakfast.
Elizabeth jumped back into bed with Ardeth and sat the bowl between them. Ardeth picked up the knife and cut into the single pomegranate in the bowl. She knew he would go for that one. She smiled between grapes and watched him pop the seeds into his mouth.
"How long will you be in Cairo?" Elizabeth asked, watching his reaction. He sighed.
"One or two more days." She nodded, a certain sadness welling inside of her. "When will you be ready to accept patients?"
"Not for another few weeks, I'm waiting on a shipment of supplies which will arrive in two weeks. In the meantime I wait, and build up what I can of this building."
"It is a fine building." Ardeth said, admiring the tiles on the walls and the wood frames around the windows. "Do you think you will be alright on your own in Cairo?"
"Do you think I cannot take care of myself, Mr. Bay?" She leaned closer to him, challenging.
"The opposite, actually. I know you can take care of yourself, probably more care than I could ever offer you. I mean…do you think you will be okay by yourself in this city?" She sighed when she realized what he was asking.
"I think I will be fine," she traced her fingers over his beard, so soft and textured. She nearly gushed at the perfect nature of it. As though Ardeth was born with this beard, then she smirked to herself at the thought—a baby with beard. "I wish I could see you everyday though."
"I wish the same, habibti. You know my duty is in the desert, but I will visit as often as I can. I will send my men here when they are injured or in bad health and I will try my best to be the one that accompanies them."
"I know you have your responsibilities. For now I am just happy to not have an entire continent between us…I miss the desert." Elizabeth said with a soft sigh.
"And the desert misses you. The winds howled relentlessly when you left and only just recently calmed. I am assuming they did so with your return to this land." Elizabeth's heart filled with earnest delight, seeing the depths of the sands in Ardeth's dark brown eyes.
"I will visit you whenever I can. Not for you though, but to see Abdal and the rest of the tribe, of course." Ardeth smiled and grabbed her arms, hauling her onto his chest. She yelped in surprised but settled happily into his hold.
"Everyone will be happy to see you, you truly left an impression on everyone in our tribe." Elizabeth smiled, and he touched her face as if he were memorizing each curve. "I wish you could come to the desert with me, stay with me. I know this is selfish of me."
"It isn't selfish, Ardeth. I wish for it too. But I also feel I can really make a difference here in the city." The kettle started to boil over and whistle.
"I know you will, Elizabeth." Ardeth spoke softly with enough confidence for the both of them.
Elizabeth poured herself and Ardeth a cup of black tea with a dash of cardamom sugar in the only two mugs she owned. Carefully she sat back onto the surface of the bed next to Ardeth.
"Thank you, habibti."
"What does that mean, habibti?"
"I thought you were working on your Arabic?" Ardeth smirked into his steaming mug. Elizabeth struggled not to roll her eyes.
"Yes well, I'm not exactly an expert yet, give me a bit of a break." Elizabeth laughed.
"This will be your word for today. Habibti; my love."
"Habibti…" Elizabeth's finger toyed with the warm rim of her mug as she considered the idea of being Ardeth's love. Her life had changed so drastically in the last year if for a moment she had thought about it, she was nearly unrecognizable to herself. Though this was not a bad thing. Not a bad thing at all.
Ardeth ran a hand through her hair.
"Elizabeth?"
"Hmm?"
"I lost you for a moment." He said honestly. Elizabeth internally shook herself from her thoughts.
"You'll never lose me." Her hand rested on top of his softly.
In that moment Elizabeth knew she would do good here, she knew it, especially with Ardeth's help.
Hi everyone! This is the last chapter of Grit and Pomegranate! I hope everyone enjoyed it and I want to thank everyone for your support through this entire year of writing. While this part may be over, I do have other things in the works and I cannot wait to share more of Ardeth and Elizabeth's next adventures with you! Stay tuned, lovelies!